WTO negotiators agree tariff cuts on more IT products

NEW YORK (Reuters) - World trade negotiators seeking to eliminate tariffs on information technology (IT) products agreed over the weekend to expand the list of items covered.

World Trade Organization (WTO) Director-General Roberto Azevedo smiles as he speaks during a news conference in Riga March 24, 2015. REUTERS/Ints Kalnins

Participants said the 54 nations had struck a tentative deal to expand to about 200 the IT products on which tariffs would be dropped. The list had an annual trade value of some $1 trillion, the World Trade Organization said late on Saturday.

The United States, China, Japan and others had been meeting at a European Union mission in Geneva and aimed to finalize the so-called Information Technology Agreement by Friday.

The U.S. Trade Representative, Michael Froman, called the deal a “major breakthrough” in talks, while WTO Director-General Roberto Azevedo tweeted there was a “basis for an agreement,” adding he was “very optimistic that we’ll have a final successful deal by the end of next week.”

The Semiconductor Industry Association estimated the deal would boost global gross domestic product by about $190 billion a year, adding that negotiators also drafted timelines to phase out tariffs for products that will not immediately go to zero-duty.

Negotiators, who met from July 14 to 18, expect their respective governments will sign off on the deal by Friday.